Thor #454
The Warriors Three Die at Dawn
Branded as traitors to the realm of Asgard, the word goes out to everyone in the kingdom that the Warriors Three will be put to death at dawn. This is overheard by the Enchantress who is in hiding as well. She goes back to the doctor who is treating another that is on Odin’s shit list: Heimdall. It seems to the doctor that their society is on the brink of collapse. Amora insists that the realm must endure and in able to keep it from falling she has much planning to do.[1]
In the royal palace, a number of allies have come to petition Odin to spare the Warriors Three. They include Tilda, the captain of the Crimson Hawks, Hermod the god of speed, Brunnhilde the Valkyrie, and Tyr the god of war. Odin responds to this with anger, telling them that his word is the way and he dismisses them all from his court, lest the face his wrath as well. Overhearing all this, Karnilla suggests that Odin consider the plea as executing the Warriors Three might lead to am uprising. Odin however, is confident he can maintain his power and that his fury will keep everyone in line. He warns Karnilla to follow his lead otherwise she will learn that even an immortal can die.
Meanwhile, Eric Masterson and his allies Sif and Balder have recovered a soul shroud. They have just learned that the soul contained inside it is not that of the exiled thunder god Thor, despite the fact that it has his face etched on it.[2] Mephisto is amused by this revelation, pointing out that he never said he had possession of Thor’s soul, just a soul. He decides to give Masterson and his friends some insight on what happened.
The Lord of Lies then recounts how Eric — as Thor — battled Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. During that fight, Zarrko plucked old enemies from the time stream to fight them, one of these foes was Loki. In the ensuing battle, Eric Masterson revealed to Loki that he is destined to die. When Zarrko and Loki were defeated, they were ejected out into the timestream. Loki managed to make it back to his proper time and used his knowledge of the future to orchestrate the banishment of the true Thor.[3]
Back in Asgard, dawn is quickly approaching and soon Tilda comes to take the Warriors Three and their friend Arko to be executed. Fandral tries to use his charm on Tilda to convince her to free them instead, but this doesn’t work. Soon, they are brought to the chopping block where the charges against them are read aloud. As the four prisoners are about to be beheaded, the Enchantress appears and blasts the executioner’s axe with her magic. This prompts the Warriors Three to start fighting for their freedom and the entire scene devolves into a brawl between those loyal to Odin and those wanting the prevent the execution. Word soon reaches Odin who becomes enraged. Teleporting to the scene of the riot, he unleashes his fury upon the crowd.
In Hell, Eric refuses to believe what Mephisto has said already and transforms into Thor once more. However, Sif and Balder hold Masterson back so Mephisto can complete his explanation of events. Amused by this outburst, the demon explains that not long after Loki’s trip through time, the trickster god came to Mephisto to suggest an alliance. Although he did not lay out his true intentions, Mephisto knew exactly what Loki was up to.[4] As such, he intentionally had a soul shroud with Thor’s face upon it to trick Loki into thinking that he was attempting to claim Thor’s soul. This led to Loki carrying out his final attack on Thor, in which he intended to force the thunder god into trying to take Loki’s life. Loki intentionally injured Susan Austin to push Thor over the edge and sure enough the plan worked, prompting Thor to slay his step-brother.[5] However, rather than death, Loki’s spirit pulled free from his body at the moment of death and took possession of Odin’s body in Asgard while the All-Father was deep in the Odinsleep.
Our heroes finally put two-and-two together and realize that the soul that has been in Mephisto’s possession this whole time has been Odin. When Sif asks Mephisto where Thor truly is, the demon admits that he doesn’t know. Regardless of that, he assures them that appearances to the contrary, Loki is now the one who rules Asgard!
Recurring Characters
Thor, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Enchantress, Heimdall, Arko, Hermod, Tyr, Valkyrie, Sif, Balder, Hildegund, Deilla, Grand Vizier, Loki, Karnilla, Mephisto, Susan Austin, Kevin Masterson
Continuity Notes
When Odin went into the Odinsleep in Thor #426, he put Heimdall in charge of things while he was asleep. When the All-Father finally awoke he branded Heimdall a traitor and banished him to Nightmare’s realm until he was rescued by the Enchantress as seen in Thor #449-452. The Warriors Three were branded traitors last issue after overhearing Odin and Karnilla conspire against Eric Masterson. What’s Odin’s deal? I’ll explain it as we go along…
Thor was banished in Thor #432 after he seemingly slew Loki, leaving Eric Masterson in the role as god of thunder. Our heroes were led to believe that Thor’s soul was trapped in the soul shroud in Mephisto’s realm since Thor #442-443. However, this is not the case. What’s the deal? Keep reading.
Zarrko the Tomorrow Man went after Thor and his allies in order to obtain enough magical power to collapse the timestream into a single linear continuity. This and the battle with the time displaced Loki all took place in Thor #438-441. Loki was plucked out of time between the events of Thor #429 and 430.
Loki and Mephisto entered into a pack to work together in Thor #430.
This of course was the fateful “final” battle between Thor and Loki in Thor #432 which ended with Loki apparently killed and Thor banished.
Susan was put in a coma for quite some time. You’ll be happy to know she was pulled out of it in Thor #442, I know you care about those sorts of things.
As My Dreams Lay A’dying
After rescuing the Warriors Three from execution, the Enchantress has taken them back to her hideout where Heimdall is still recovering from his injuries. She tells Volstagg and the others that she turned against Loki — who she has revealed is posing as Odin — because he injured her beloved Heimdall, who is now only being sustained by her strength giving magics.[1] Among the Warriors Three is Arko one of the Crimson Hawks who was also branded a traitor by “Odin”. He feels guilty for believing the story that Heimdall was a traitor and recalls how bravely the warrior fought against the threat posed by Surtur and Ymir. He recalls how they won the battle and were hailed as heroes. Arko was part of that war and fought alongside Heimdall and Asgards greatest warriors. He remembers how they kept Arko alive so he could return home and be reunited with his wife Deilla who had just given birth moments after he was called out to war.[2]
As Arko is making these recollections, Volstagg endlessly bickers with Amor. That is until Hogun cuts through the chatter and says that their only recourse is to strike back against the pretender on the throne. Arko also pledges his sword to their side and Fandral pronounces that this time they shall be the Warriors Four. Amora corrects him, as she intends to fight alongside them as the Warriors Five.
Recurring Characters
Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Enchantress, Heimdall, Arko, Deilla, Loki
Continuity Notes
Amora and Heimdall had a long running relationship before she reverted back to her evil ways. It lasted from Thor #360 through 402.
This would have been the war of the Endless Circle a battle wherein Surtur and Ymir threatened to cause Ragnarok during a titanic battle with one another. This battle and Arko’s role in it were chronicled in Thor #418-424.
